BillyBob Parts Shop

WHAT'S NEW is a chronological listing of updates to the BillyBob site.

TRUCK LINKS including vendor sites for old parts, custom parts, and tools as well as sites for classic car and truck organizations

STORE Operating in association with Amazon.com, books, recordings and tools can be purchased.

PLANNING for the restoration including project schedule and cost estimates.

TRAVELS WITH BILLYBOB With apologies to Steinbeck, this area of BillyBob's Garage will be used to log the trips BillyBob and I make together.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS is the restoration of parts of BillyBob that I can accomplish without a garage.

PRE-RESTORATION includes log entries of minor repairs and and adventures between time of purchase and the time when I started restoration, a piece at a time.

JR'S KORNER JR's Korner is the history of BillyBob before I got him authored by my brother, Wm. C. Kephart.

BILLYBOB MAINTENANCE Ever changing detailing, oil change, lube, etc. maintenance routines specifically developed for BillyBob, including required tools, materials and procedures.

PARTS SHOP The Parts Shop is a repository of How-To articles. Things that I have done over and over enough times to have developed a procedure. This gives me a checklist and saves brain cells.

STEALTH SHOP Urban residence design with large integrated shop and separate living quarters for a relative or renter.

1. Nuts n Bolts: Degreasing, Derusting and Cleaning

Collection / Organization

I've taken to storing up those rusty fasteners and small parts that can be used again. This gives me something to do on those days when weather conditions in the shadetree garage prevent me from working on BillyBob. All small parts go in a "Restoration Candidates" container for future cleaning and refinishing operations. Some of these items only need cleaning. At the other end of the scale are items that are so far gone, an attempt to recycle them is only being made because they are unavailable elsewhere.

Degreasing

Degreasing follows a mild to harsh methodology. In other words, mild cleaners are tried first and if that doesn't do the job, a more caustic cleaning method is tried.

The first degreasing method uses a bucket, Simple Green cleaner, a brass brush and water. Greasy items are selected from the "Restoration Candidates" container and placed in the bucket. They are sprayed with full strength Simple Green and left to soak. Periodically, I douse them with more Simple Green. After soaking for awhile, the parts are brushed and water is added to the bucket to submerge the parts. Finally, after soaking awhile longer, the parts are rinsed with clean water and dryed with a hair dryer.

If the parts aren't clean yet (often the case where there is still sealant in the threads, etc.), solvents are the next step. The items are placed in a small pan and the stubborn areas are soaked with spray on brake cleaner or carb cleaner. Wear rubber gloves and scrub the parts with a brass brush. Both cleaner types evaporate quickly. As a last resort, submerge the stubborn parts in the liquid carb and parts cleaner and seal the lid on for an hour, a day or a week. This is nasty stuff - be careful with it. It will also remove the paint off any parts submerged in it.

After soaking in the solvent soup, fish the parts out and submerge in a pan of clean water. Dry the parts with a clean rag and use a scribe or x-acto knife to remove any remains of sealant still left it the nooks and cranies. The degreased parts are now placed back in the "Restoration Candidates" container for more processing. Some parts can go straight to cleaning. Others may need derusting first.

Derusting

Derusting follows an easy to hard methodology. Easy methods like a vinegar soak (mild acid) is used first. At the other end of the scale is media blasting.

The first derusting method uses a couple of glass jars with lids, household white vinegar, and baking soda. Rusty items are selected from the "Restoration Candidates" container and placed one of the jars. Vinegar is added until all the parts are submerged. Seal the lid on for a day, two days, three days. After the vinegar soaking, put a baking soda and water solution in the other jar and transfer the parts to that jar to neutralize the acid from the vinegar soaking. Finally, the parts are rinsed with clean water and dryed with a clean cloth to remove the black residue that results from the vinegar soak.

The second derusting method uses a wire wheel in an air-powered angle grinder. Eye, hand and skin protection are required. The wire wheel will also help to remove any residue left over from the vinegar derusting method too. Use channel-lock pliers or vise-grips to hold the small parts for this operation. Simple shapes, like hex bolts, where the wire wheel can reach all surfaces are best suited for this method. Select items from the "Restoration Candidates" container, wire brush them and return to the container for future operations.

The third derusting method is media blasting. It's the last resort method for me 'cause all the setup and cleanup work required for this method in the shadetree garage. If I had a real shop, I would get a quality blast cabinet and air compressor that would make this method more favored. This is a very small portable blast cabinet purchased thru the Eastwood Company. It's better than my old cheapie Harbor Freight cabinet but not much. There is not much room in this thing for anything but your hands and the blast gun so, it is only good for small parts. For derusting, I use aluminum oxide as the media. It is more aggressive than sand. I get mine from McMaster-Carr in ten pound tubs. Select items from the "Restoration Candidates" container, media blast them and return to the container for future operations.

Cleaning

A group of parts to be cleaned are picked out of the "Restoration Candidates" container. The selected parts are placed in Eastwood's "Tumble-Vibe" for a cleaning session. Eastwood now carries three sizes of this tumbler. Mine is the middle-sized one. The parts are placed in the small tumbler bowl and the "Green Pyramid" plastic cutting media is added until it just covers the parts being cleaned. Water is added until the water level is just below that of the media. A teaspoon of Eastwood's "Metal Wash" is added to the mix and the lid is secured. The tumbler is plugged in and allowed to run for an hour.

After the tumbler session, the parts are rinsed with water and dryed with a hair dryer. The "Metal Wash" will protect the parts from rust until the next finishing operation. The parts are then placed in a "Cleaned Misc Small Parts" container to await Plating, Blackening or Painting operations.

You can email me at  webmaster@laroke.com

Issued Monday October 25, 2004

Updated Tuesday April 24, 2018

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